A. Name Sound Letter Name Sound Letter
lamed l l alef silent a
sameh s s gimel g g ˙ ayin silent [ dalet d d
peh p P heh h h
qof q q het h j ˙ ˙ resh r r tet t t
(sin) s c khof k ∞K
tav t / (hof) h ˚k ˙ ˙
Modern Hebrew equivalents are shown for the consonants. This will be true for the vowels as well. This is by far the simplest system for Hebrew pronunciation. Note the following:
a and [ once throat sounds, are treated as silent letters by most modern speakers.
g and G have the sound of “g” as in “gum.”
w now pronounced with a “v” sound, was originally pronounced as a “w” (the letter name is often written as “waw”).
j and k are both a throaty “h” sound—like the “ch” in the Scottish word Loch. This sound will be designated by “h.” ˙ t / and ? are all simple “t” sounds.
s and c are both “s” sounds.
x is most closely approximated in English by the sound of “ts” as in hits.
q has a hard “q” sound close to “k,” never the sound of our “qu.”
c v In some Biblical Hebrew dictionaries c is listed before v but in concordances (and in modern Hebrew) the two are often treated as the same letter or else v precedes c
3 HEBREW ALPHABET
Hebrew is read from right to left; books (such as the Bible) begin at the “back.” Note that some letters have two forms. The second is called the final form, as it is used only at the end of a word. The first form is used at the beginning and middle of a word. Locate both forms of each letter in the examples below:
tsadeh qdx peh μynP nun lpn mem hm khof lK ≈ra πsK ˆK μv ˚lm
4 VOWEL POINTS
Full Vowels
B. Name Sign Sound Class
qamats -1 a (father) A
patah -2 a (father) A ˙ segol -4 eh (set) I/A
tsere (plene) y-3 ei (sleigh) I
tsere (defectiva) -3 ei/eh (sleigh or set) I
hireq (plene) y-5 i (machine) I ˙ hireq (defectiva) -5 i/ih (machine or hit) I ˙ shureq u u (flute) U
qibbuts -6 u (flute) U
holem(plene) wF o (hope) U ˙ holem (defectiva) -f o (hope) U ˙ qamats hatuf -1 o (hold) U ˙ Shewa and Composite Shewas
simple shewa -7 no sound silent
simple shewa -7 slight sound (McCoy) vocal
composite patah -8 a (around) A ˙ composite segol -9 eh (effect) I/A
composite qamats -0 o (olfactory) U
Note the following:
More than one vowel may have the same sound, e.g.: shureq u and qibbuts -6 are both heard as “u” in flute.
Qamats and qamats hatuf are represented by the same symbol but are pronounced differently. ˙ Their distinguishing characteristics are discussed in Lesson 6.
5 READING AND WRITING
Two common marks that affect pronunciation are maqqef `lKwhich1 means that the word(s) before it are not accented, and meteg -' which indicates an open syllable. The following words show the Hebrew pointing (vowel) system.
meteg ≤y"! is open syllable maqqef ≤lk1 is unaccented hd!r&y!" la3r!c7y% ba1 `lk1 rv4a8 μa6n& yl5j⁄& μyh5lF a9 yn#B7 ¶l3wFh u[m7v7Y%w@
6 VOCALIZATION
C. The Hebrew alphabet is the oldest in the world still in use today; our own alphabet is a descendant of it by a circuitous route. The text of the Hebrew Bible we use today reflects several periods of de- velopment. Originally only the consonants were used. By the time of the Israelite kingdoms, some consonants y w h were used to indicate certain vowels:
h ah y i/ei w oo/oh
These letters, called matres lectionis (mothers of reading) or vowel letters, continued to be used as consonants as well. Much later, in the Middle Ages, a system of dots and dashes was devised to indicate every vowel. This was done by scholars we call Masoretes. By that time, the text was so sacred that the vowel letters ywhcould not be removed, so the dot-dash system was used in addition to the vowel letters. For example:
ei (as in sleigh) can be represented by either y-3 or -3
i (as in machine) can be represented by y-5 or -5
o (as in hope) can be represented by either wF or -f
u as in ( flute) can be represented by u or -6
The spellings with the vowel letters are considered to be long or longer than those without the vowel letters. Spelling rules during the period in which the texts were written varied a good deal, and the vagaries were usually preserved by the Masoretes. That is why you may see the same word spelled different ways in the text. For example: bv3yF and bv3wFy To distinguish the spellings there are two terms: bv3yF is defectiva spelling, and bv3wFy is plene (or full) spelling. If a word is usually written with a vowel letter, however, it means that the vowel is long and that it is basically unchangeable, whatever else is added to a word.
The proper way to sound out a word is to sound the first consonant, then the vowel with it, then the next consonant and vowel combination, and so on. The last consonant most often has no vowel sound and rounds off (closes) the syllable.
rb11 ” d! ¶l4 ” m4= μyh5 ” lƒ ” a9 <, no sound for a
¯ pronounce the vowel
Usually, the final syllable in a word is accented or stressed. In most cases, printed texts mark the accented syllables. In this book a generic accent sign -+ is used in most places when the word is not accented on the final syllable.
7 READING AND WRITING
D. Where no vowel sound was heard, the shewa -7 was used. Either it has no sound (silent shewa) or a very slight sound (vocal shewa) to link the consonants together.
A shewa is heard as a slight “uh” sound (vocal shewa) when:
1. It is under the first consonant in a word μyr% ” b1 ” D&
¯ vocal shewa
2. It is the second shewa in a row u[ ” m7 ” v7 ” Y%
vocal shewa ¯¯silent shewa
3. It follows a long vowel μd! ” a1 ” l7 ” u
vocal shewa ¯¯long vowel
4. It is under a letter that is followed by the same letter ¡=k7r$b1y& he will bless you
˚k¯vocal shewa
5. It is under a letter with dagesh forte1 /wFdL7y@m7 midwives
dagesh forte ¯ vocal shewa
6. Composite shewas -8 -9 -0 are, by definition, vocal. They are used under gutturals and sometimes r when a vocal shewa is needed. (See items 1–5 above.)
E. Aside from the vowel signs, another mark was used to indicate more precisely how certain conso- nants were pronounced. This mark, called a dagesh, is simply a dot in the center of a letter. The dagesh was also used in certain grammatical constructions you will learn, and so can be found in most letters. In some letters it always indicates different pronunciation as well:
With Dagesh Without Dagesh
b B v b
p P f πp
k ∞K h ˚k ˙
Three other letters /dgwere distinguished by different pronunciation when a dagesh appeared in them, but these distinctions are no longer made in modern Hebrew pronunciation, in which
1. Dagesh forte is addressed in Lesson 1. If a shewa makes a dagesh forte disappear (addressed in Lesson 2), is the shewa still vocal? This is a matter about which grammarians argue.
8 VOCALIZATION
these letters have only one sound each. We will follow this practice in pronunciation, but the dagesh will still be written in these three letters. These six consonants /pkdgbare known as the BeGaDKePHaT letters. Some letters do not take dagesh. These are the gutturals [ j h a and the letter r
F. Some letters become quiescent; that is, they drop out of pronunciation altogether. This happens if a silent letter would have a simple shewa -7 under it. In these cases, the consonant is written (remember, it is part of the sacred text), but the shewa is not: rm4aYFw@
consonant, no shewa ¯
Assignments
A. Using the textbook and Batracks 2–3, memorize the alphabet and learn to recognize and pro- nounce the vowels.
B. Practice reading out loud using the Proper Names and Places Reading Exercise (Reading and Writ- ing G).
C. Learn to write either block or script as your teacher wishes. Both styles are demonstrated in the Writing Exercises (Reading and Writing H).
D. Throughout the course, use the Supplement to review, reinforce, and test what you have learned. References to sections in the Supplement will be designated by an S followed by the corresponding lesson reference in the textbook. Some discussions in the Supplement—those designated by a S— deal with material that may be more advanced or go into more detail than appeals to many begin- ners. Those sections may be skipped and returned to at a later stage of study.
9
G. PROPER NAMES AND PLACES READING EXERCISE
DC B A
ˆD! /ur hr!c1 μd!a1 1
hn!yD% dG! hv4mf twFl 2
πs3wFyha1l3 lj3r! qj2x7y% 3 hd!uhy& la3r!c7y% rv3a1 yw%l3 4
ˆb3uar& hq1b7r% wc1[3 bqf[8y@ 5
ˆym5y!n&B5 ˆrfh8a2 μy%r=@p7a4 ˆulb6z& 6
ˆwF[d&G% la3n%D! la[3m1v7y% rG!h1 7 la3umv7 lb4h4= ˆy%q1 dw%D! 8
ˆwFyx5 μy!r&m5 luav1 ˆd$[3 9 uhY+!l5a3 hn!wFyhr!bfD& hN!j1 10
lm4r&K2 z[2Bf ˆwFnb1l7 lb3B1 11
swFm[1 ˆ[2n@+K7 yn@ys5 wFjyr%y& 12
ˆ/1n!wFhy& [@uv=wFhy& hv4n!m7 μj4l=4 /yB3 13
ˆwFvm7v5 hl1yl5D& qd$x4=`yK5l7m2 hw#n&yn% 14 uhy+!r&k2z& quQb2j8 /y@l7G! μ[2l7B5 15
μy%r=@x7m5 μlƒv1b7a2 lb4z+$ya5 ly%g@+yb5a8 16 Egypt hy!m7j4n& ar!z&[4 yj2D)r&m1 r?3s7a4 17
11
H. BLOCK AND SCRIPT WRITING EXERCISE
Block Writing
Script Writing